News and Articles

Provisions in residential leases enabling landlords to determine each tenant’s service charge proportion may be void.

The 3 recent break clause cases of Friends Life v Siemens Hearing (3 April 2014), Friends Life v A&A Express (9 May 2014) and M&S v BNP Paribas (14 May 2014) have all highlighted omissions or practical difficulties caused by the drafting of the break clauses in the Leases.

In the rush to secure a property, it can be easy to overlook the small print in a conditional lease in relation to dilapidations – with potentially expensive results.

Developer escapes liability for failing to undertake obscure search.

Developer escapes liability for failing to undertake obscure search.

The recent Supreme Court decision in Coventry v Lawrence [2014] UKSC 13 raises interesting points relating to the tort of private nuisance and the remedies available to a successful Claimant, primarily in respect of nuisance arising from noise, but of wider importance on the issue of damages being granted in lieu of injunctive relief.

Property lawyers have not generally needed to take a great deal of notice of Human Rights law. Particularly in the field of commercial property the impact of the Human Rights Act 1998 has been fairly minimal. The reason for this is that the HRA 1998 does not, generally, impose any obligations on private individuals. In the lexicon of human rights jargon, the effect of the Act is vertical not horizontal; that is to say it regulates relations between state and citizen and not between private individuals or companies.

It is difficult to imply a term into a lease and parties need to spell out the position clearly regarding re-imbursement payments for rent, service charge, sinking fund, and insurance when a Lease can be ended early.

Pay close attention to lease requirements when calculating service charge and crediting provisional sums.

Ensure the right parties make the statutory application for a new business tenancy.